Criterion number seven is: Communicating and collaborating with parents and the school community.
The teacher communicates and collaborates with students, families, and all educational stakeholders in an ethical and professional manner to promote student learning. Some teachers use weekly letters, e-mail, class calendars, websites, and on-line grade reporting systems to communicate with parents. Why not have students develop materials to inform their families of class activities with a newsletter they write?
In addition to keeping parents informed, I look for ways to promote world language in our school and our community. As an elective teacher, each spring I compete for students to take my class. I call this “sweeps week.” Students use their persuasive language skills to make posters called “Why Study a Foreign Language.” After several YouTube clips, a brainstorm session, and my power point, they are armed with reasons to cover the school with quality posters promoting world language study. We also cook this week so students are following recipes in the target language to create something delicious. You can smell this all over school and students poke their heads in and ask what class is this? It’s really not fair to the other elective teachers, but it helps to advertise our programs in our schools, feeder schools, and community. Here’s my presentation and some of the Youtube clips. Why learn a second language
Look for opportunities to have students perform in the school or community. My students sing, dance, and read poetry in talent shows at school and festivals at the Seattle Center. We perform fairy tales, complete with scenery, costumes, and props, the last week of school for other classes that want to come watch. Each year my students read picture books in French and Spanish in the children’s area of Barnes and Noble book store. This is a fundraiser that involves the community and raises funds for our school. How do you incorporate the communities standard and the Tpep requirement of involving families? Please share your ideas here!